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Varsha Seshan

Hastaabhinaya – expressing through your hands

July 4, 2014 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Classical dance is a language that has the power to express your deepest emotions. When we learn a language from scratch, where do we begin? When you read, you begin with A-B-C; when you sing you begin with Do Re Mi … The alphabet of dance consists of mudras or patterns formed with your hands. With four fingers […]

Filed Under: Dance, Dance Workshops Tagged With: art, Bharatanatyam, performance, workshop

Abhinaya: A Dance Workshop

July 1, 2014 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

What is abhinaya? Does it really just mean ‘expression’? Etymologically, abhinaya comes from two words ‘abhi’ (towards) and ‘niya’ (leading). So, Abhinaya leads you, the audience towards something. And what is that something? Rasa – aesthetic pleasure. Considering that these ideas come from the Natya Shastra, the abhinaya aspect of dance is linked to theatre […]

Filed Under: Dance, Dance Workshops Tagged With: art, Bharatanatyam, culture, programme, workshop

Workshop Coming Soon …

June 29, 2014 by Varsha Seshan 2 Comments

We are conducting a dance workshop (followed by a performance) soon … I will share the details in the next few days!

Filed Under: Dance, Dance Workshops Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, India, performance, programme, workshop

Biskitwali

May 10, 2014 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

My dance teacher regularly gives the Salvation Army children food and biscuits, so everyone there, from the workers to the watchman’s son, knows her. The little ones have given her a name, too – ‘Biskitwali’. The most endearing feature of the epithet is that no offence is intended , and none is taken. Yesterday, I […]

Filed Under: Children, Dance Tagged With: Academy of Indian Dances

International Dance Day

April 29, 2014 by Varsha Seshan 2 Comments

It’s International Dance Day! The best day, perhaps, to pay tribute to my guru, Guru Mythili Raghavan. Nobody can quite understand why she means so much to us. Why is it that we spend odd hours at her place? Why do so many of the seniors’ parents comment that we listen more to her than […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, reading

Thank you!

April 28, 2014 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

For all those who came and watched me and listened to me at Art Hop Pune, thank you! I began with almost no one in my audience. In five minutes, there were over twenty people – a large number in such a small place. And as I was doing my last piece, the place was […]

Filed Under: Dance, Dance Workshops Tagged With: art, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme, story, story-catcher, workshop

Lecture Demonstration at Art Hop Pune

April 27, 2014 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Nritta is one of the two pillars of the magnificent structure called dance. Nritta is pure technique, with no hidden symbolism, no complex meaning and no detailed explanation involved. What is the purpose, then, of nritta? That’s one of the modules of today’s lecture demonstration at Oakwood Sen5es at 5pm. Be part of Art Hop […]

Filed Under: Dance, Dance Workshops Tagged With: art, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme, workshop

Workshop on Rasa at Art Hop Pune

April 24, 2014 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I will be facilitating a short workshop on Rasa: Understanding the Aesthetics of Indian Classical Dance on Sunday the 27th of April, 2014, at Oakwood Sen5es at 5pm as part of Art Hop Pune. I hope to see you there!

Filed Under: Dance, Dance Workshops

Women of Pride

April 9, 2014 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Women of Pride unravelled a lot of questions before proceeding to respond to them, at least in part . There was so much about the devadasis that I did not know. Often in books I read, the history of these temple dancers was cheerfully summed up in a couple of sentences. The devadasis were nityasumangali […]

Filed Under: Books, Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, history, India, reading, review

Ram Navami

April 8, 2014 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Three years ago, we performed on a beautiful stage as part of the Kannada Sangha celebrations in Pune. I can’t quite believe that it was three years ago. Waiting to perform again!

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, India, performance, programme

Arangetram

April 7, 2014 by Varsha Seshan 2 Comments

Often, invitation cards say that ‘Arangetram’ means ‘ascending the stage’. Theoretically, all of us know that it is our first stage programme. Then why is it supposed to be so perfect? It is a beginning, an entrance. We often widen our eyes and raise our eyebrows at students who perform their Arangetram ‘too early’. At […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: Arangetram, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, India, performance, programme

Baby Krishna

January 21, 2014 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Finally, here are a few photographs of the baby that everyone loved so much. It’s a doll, yes, a doll, made by my French mother. It’s not a real baby, no. We dressed it (her) as Baby Krishna for our performance in December – here are a few pictures!

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: art, Bharatanatyam, culture, France, French, India, performance, programme

PMC Award!

December 31, 2013 by Varsha Seshan 3 Comments

When we introduce my teacher, we always talk about the prestigious Iyal Isai Nadagam award that she received. We have so many things to say about her, about countries she’s toured and things she has achieved. This time, we had the privilege of being present when Guru Mythili Raghavan received an award from the Pune […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, guru, Mythili Raghavan, performance, programme

Performed Yesterday!

December 18, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

There’s nothing in the world like the thrill of performing. Even if it’s just a tiny performance at my teacher’s place. Nothing much went wrong. There were no black-outs, but that was okay.I was to sit on a small wooden stool for one scene, but no one but I seemed to know where the stool […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme

Performing on Tuesday

December 14, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

The thrill of performing is here again! A little performance, a private performance this time – not on a stage, and for barely twenty people. “We’ll do it in a very simple way,” said my teacher. “Those who are playing boys will dress in salwar-kameez. The girls will wear practice saris.” Doing it at my […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme

Radha and Krishna – the eternal romance

December 7, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Radha and Krishna sit together in the forest, making sweet small talk. The trees, creepers and deer are all around. It’s beautiful. A dancer and I sat together on a small wooden table, getting into the mood of the moment. Dancers surrounded us, creating the atmosphere of trees, creepers and deer. A peacock was supposed […]

Filed Under: Dance

Nehru Bal Sangh

November 17, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

One fine day in 1964, a group of fifth class students envisaged a forum where all of them could meet and spread the message of love, brotherhood and harmony to all the corners of the country. Their initiative and drive mixed with their deep commitment to make their country strong, united and prosperous helped lay […]

Filed Under: Children, Dance

Dashami

October 13, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Yes, I know many would disagree and say that tomorrow is Dashami, not today. But we celebrated it today. Last year, my dance teacher was not here, and somehow, we put things together and managed. (In the south, Dashami is a Big Deal. We start our year of education on Dashami. Coming just after Saraswati […]

Filed Under: Dance

Swarada Datar

September 28, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Where does the beauty of dance lie? When it comes to Bharatanatyam, particularly the Pandanallur style, surely it’s in the lines, the perfect geometry and the crisp, precise body movements. Whatever else may have been lacking, the geometry in Swarada’s dance was certainly perfect. Her performance was excellent. It’s rare for me to use a […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: Bharatanatyam, performance, programme, review

Yesterday

September 14, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Yesterday, we performed again. We were early. The audience was late. We started half an hour late, after our lovely organiser called out on the mike to the society and large, “Green Acres, come on, wake up! Get up and come to the clubhouse!” We took our own music system – a largish one that […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme

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